Doing it the Ezra Way

UV 817/10,000 Doing it the Ezra Way For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the LORD, and to do it, and to teach in Israel statutes and judgments Ezra 7 v 10 Every day we must prepare our hearts as Ezra did to seek the law of the Lord. When we seek the law of the Lord, He will reveal His will. The blessings of the Lord are contingent on obedience of the law or the will of the Lord. The Word of God in its application to our everyday lives is the will of God. We prepare our hearts by asking the Holy Spirit to cleanse us of any sin, hidden, wilful or unknown sin. Then we ask Him to anoint us with the wisdom of God to understand scripture. We prepare our hearts by declaring that we will obey whatever the Lord wills as revealed in His Word. Ezra was a ready scribe for the Lord and for Israel. He prepared the people to hear God’s Word. He did not approach the Word casually but he prayed, confessed, wept and threw himself down before God. So much so, the people too gathered around him and wept bitterly. Reverence of God which is the beginning of wisdom is the reverence of the Word. Ezra did not just read the Word and left it to the people of Israel to obey or apply it in their lives. He did it or applied it in his own life. He was not just a hearer but a doer of the Word. Only after he obeyed the Word, did he endeavour to teach it to the nation of Israel. While Nehemiah provided leadership for the physical re-building of the ruined walls and city of Jerusalem, Ezra’s focus was on spiritually re-building Israel by encouraging them to listen to the statutes and judgements in scripture. Just as we work to feed, clothe and shelter our bodies, we need to feed, clothe and shelter our spirits and souls. Many people including several Christian leaders and management gurus teach seven habits or disciplines or 25 principles of leadership and so on but Ezra had only one habit to transform his life and the life of his nation- sincere preparation of the heart, diligent study of the Scripture and dedicated obedience or application of the truths, principles, precepts, models, examples, promises and privileges hidden in the Word of God. Ezra’s heart was fixed or focussed on the Word. The Spirit anointed him and the Word empowered him. Jesus said that “ whoever heard the Word and does it is like a wise man who built his house upon the rock” Jesus also said that “ Whoever does what the Word says and teaches others to do so will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven.” It implies that we will be wise and secure in this world and esteemed in the life to come. The Book of Revelation promises that those who do His commandments will get the right to the tree of life and enter the gates of the city of Heaven. We must learn to look at the world through the templates of the Word. We must cut out of our lives the parts that are not part of the templates of the Word: pride, lust, greed, envy, laziness, negativity. Those of us who have a gift or calling for the written and spoken word must become scribes for the Lord in our nations as Ezra was in Israel. We need to teach, exhort and rebuke with sound doctrine, patience, humility and authority. Ezra received the favour and support of the King who gave him both permission, patronage and support to continue his ministry. Scripture affirms that “ the king gave him all that he requested according to the hand of the Lord that was upon him”. The Lord once gave me a confirmation of my calling through this uni-verse and called me an Ezra in this day and time. The other day I met a young man in a shop at John F Kennedy airport. He was from China and had sought asylum in the USA on the ground of persecution. He was saddened by the fact that Communist China took away people’s freedom to believe in God even as secular USA forbade him from sharing the good news of salvation with anyone while at work. He felt that both Communism in the country from which he had fled and this anti-faith secularism in the country where he sought refuge were equally evil and godless. I realized that people from all cultures and nations are hungry to have an intimate relationship with the Lord God through His Son Jesus who makes it possible and practical to relate to an absolutely holy, wise and infinite God. Prateep V Philip